The present invention relates generally to chewing gum and the manufacture of same. More specifically, the present invention relates to chewing gum bases and methods and materials for manufacturing same.
Of course, it is known in the manufacture of chewing gum to use a gum base which is water-insoluble, the water-insoluble gum base is combined with water-soluble components such as flavors and sweeteners to produce chewing gum. The water-insoluble portion, or gum cud, is designed not to dissolve in the mouth of the chewer. This has resulted in conventional gum cuds that cannot be digested by the chewer. Accordingly, after chewing gum is chewed, the gum cud that remains that must be discarded. This can create a number of issues with respect to chewing gum.
Unfortunately, conventional gum cuds can easily adhere to any dry surface, such as wood, concrete, paper and cloth. When gum cuds are improperly discarded, they can be difficult to remove from such surfaces. At times, this has caused some environmental concerns.
The above factors may at times restrict the marketing and use of chewing gum. Accordingly, there has been a move to develop a chewing gum which is either ingestible or that creates a gum cud that is easily removable and degradable. However, this search has been elusive.
For example, typically ingestible polymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, as compared to flexible elastomers that are used in conventional chewing gum, are rigid and therefore are not suitable as chewing elastomers. Moreover, in the presence of large amounts of plasticizers, such as water, alcohol, and glycerin or polyols, some proteins and polysaccharides become elastic at body temperature. On the other hand, some other ingestible polymers such as starches, albumins, globulins, due to their polar structures, have a tendency to quickly dissolve or disperse in the mouth of the chewer. Such ingestible polymers therefore cannot stand up to prolonged chewing.
Water insoluble ingestible polymers such as prolamines and glutelins have been explored for formulating ingestible chewing gums. However, the most effective prolamine solvents such as alcohol and polyol are still water-soluble or dispersable in water. They therefore can be extracted out during chewing. The texture of prolamines, such as zein, up after the alcohol plasticizers have been chewed out. Accordingly, water insoluble plasticizers are required in order to maintain a soft texture during prolonged chew. This requires the use of lipids such as beeswax, candelilla wax and fats to be used for this purpose in the presence of large amounts of emulsifiers.
Chewing gums comprising prolamines as well as zein have been used or proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,154,482, 2,469,861, 2,489,147, 5,482,722 and 5,112,625. However, these products have not been entirely satisfactory from a chewing gum standpoint.
There is therefore a need for an improved chewing gum and gum base that is ingestible and/or biodegradable.
The present invention provides improved chewing gum and gum bases. The improved chewing gum and gun bases are ingestible and/or biodegradable.
To this end, the present invention provides a gum base comprising enzymatically hydrolyzed zein.
In an embodiment, the zein is hydrolyzed with a peptidase.
In an embodiment, the zein is hydrolyzed with a proteinase.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes a humectant.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes an emulsifier.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes a polysaccharide.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes an ingestible protein.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes a lipid.
In an embodiment, the enzymatically hydrolyzed zein comprises approximately 20% to about 65% percent by weight of the gum base.
In an embodiment, the gum base includes an edible acid.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a gum base is provided comprising an enzymatically hydrolyzed protein and a polysaccharide.
In a still further embodiment of the present invention, a chewing gum is provided. The chewing gum comprises an insoluble gum base including enzymatically hydrolyzed zein and a water soluble portion including a flavor and a sweetener.
In an embodiment, the zein is hydrolyzed with a peptidase.
In an embodiment, the zein is hydrolyzed with a proteinase.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes a humectant.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes an emulsifier.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes a polysaccharide.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes an ingestible protein.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes a lipid.
In an embodiment, the enzymatically hydrolyzed zein comprises approximately 20% to about 65% percent by weight of the chewing gum base.
In an embodiment, the zein is derived from corn.
In an embodiment, the chewing gum includes malt.
In an further embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a chewing gum is provided. The method comprises the steps of hydrolyzing zein using an enzyme and using the enzymatically hydrolyzed zein to produce a gum base.
In a still further embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing chewing gum is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a gum base including an enzymatically hydrolyzed zein; and mixing with the gum base a flavor and a sweetener to provide a finished chewing gum.
In an embodiment of the method, the finished chewing gum is heated. Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention to provide an improved chewing gum.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved gum base.
Still another advantage of the present invention is to provide a gum cud that is ingestible. Furthermore, an advantage of the present invention is to provide a chewing gum that produces a gum cud that does not cause environmental concerns if improperly discarded.
Further an advantage of the present invention is to provide new ingredients for constructing gum bases.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide improved elastomers for constructing chewing gum.
Still an advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved method for manufacturing chewing gum.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments and the figure.